Glen Moray 12 is a reliable Speyside workhorse, and it tastes like the kind of whisky you pour without thinking. This Glen Moray 12 Year Old review is about a 40% malt that costs about £40, tastes of vanilla, honey and orchard fruit with a little toasted oak, and is a soft, sweet and easy dram.
I like it. It does what it promises, and the twelve-year age statement at this price is a fair offer. It is not a whisky that will startle you, and it is a perfectly good one to keep around.
Glen Moray stands in Elgin, at the northern edge of Speyside, and has been making whisky since 1897. It has belonged to La Martiniquaise since 2008, and the Glen Moray distillery has a reputation for good-value, easy-drinking single malts.
The 12 is bottled at 40% with a twelve-year age statement, and it is matured in ex-bourbon casks as far as I could tell, so check the label. UK listings I found ranged from about £38 to £53, with most around £38 to £45, so I use about £40. Age statements versus NAS explains why the number matters, and the Glen Moray Classic is the cheaper younger sibling.
A vanilla sponge with a drizzle of honey, a slice of green apple and a hint of toasted oak.
The nose is sweet and gentle, with vanilla, honey and orchard fruit, then a little toasted oak, a hint of malt and a faint floral note. It smells soft, clean and rather comforting, with nothing sharp.
On the palate it is soft and sweet, with vanilla, apple and gentle spice, then a little honey, a hint of malt and a soft oak. The 40% gives it a light body, and the texture is smooth and slightly thin. It is very easy to drink, and it is easy to forget.
The finish is medium, with oak, honey and a trace of malt. It is warm, clean and mild.
A few drops of water are not really needed, though they bring out the apple and soften the oak. It also gets sweeter as it sits, and the honey comes forward. At 40% there is little room for water, and a light hand is the right one.
Neat, in a small glass, or on a couple of cubes. It is a very easy sipper and a good everyday whisky. It makes a pleasant Whisky Sour, where the vanilla and the honey work with the lemon, and a good long drink with soda.
It goes well with a mild cheese, shortbread and a quiet evening. It is a decent gift for somebody who likes soft, sweet whisky and would like a twelve-year-old without a high price.
At about £40 it scores 73. Glen Moray Classic scores 69 at about £24, which is four points lower for £16 less. Glenlivet 12 scores 75 at about £36, two points better for £4 less. Glenfiddich 12 scores 74 at about £32, and Aberlour 12 Double Cask scores 81 at about £38.
So the 12 is a pleasant whisky at a price where several rivals do a little better. The Aberlour beats it by eight points for £2 less, which is the real comparison. I would buy it as a dependable bottle and I would not be sad about it.
Every drinker needs a whisky that does not need to be thought about. It should be pleasant, it should be easy to pour, and it should not cost enough to make you feel guilty. Glen Moray 12 fits that description, and that is a worthwhile thing to be.
The flavours are soft and sweet, with vanilla and apple at the front. There is nothing that will start an argument, and nothing that will make you stop talking either. It sits in the background of an evening, which is sometimes exactly right.
If you want something to remember, look elsewhere. If you want something to drink, this will do the job.
Four more bottles, from the better buys to the sibling.
A balanced double-cask malt that scores eight points higher for £2 less.
A light, fruity Speyside malt that scores two points higher for £4 less.
A fresh, pear-led malt that scores a point higher for £8 less.
The entry-level bottle, four points lower for £16 less.
Glen Moray 12 is soft, sweet, honeyed and easy, a dependable Speyside malt for every day. It is a good bottle at a fair price, and the Aberlour 12 Double Cask is the better buy.
Caskable score: 73 out of 100.
Vanilla, honey, orchard fruit and a little toasted oak
Soft and sweet, with vanilla, apple and gentle spice
Medium, with oak, honey and a trace of malt
A soft, sweet, reliable Speyside malt that is good and a little bland.
Thomas Grønvold is the founder of Caskable and a whisky enthusiast who believes the best way to learn about whisky is simply to drink it, compare it, and stay curious. From supermarket favourites to bottles from distilleries around the world, he writes about what he actually tastes and experiences, without pretending you need to be an expert to enjoy a good dram.
View profile →
